The Dogs of Sybil
by Ash-Boss
Summary: After a decade in the making, Fiore has created the ultimate society. With this new system, Lucy Heartfilia tries to find her place in the world at the Bureau of Public Safety's Criminal Investigation, but it's not as simple as it seems. Crimes begin to point towards a deadly group, but what do they want from her new partner? NaLu Psycho Pass AU. (Rating subject to change.)
1. Chapter 1

Blues and purples melted in the sky as the sun buried itself behind the moon. With the city lights twinkling, she would have called it beautiful. If only it wasn't raining and she wasn't in such a rush she might have stopped and enjoyed it.

Heels click-clacked against the cobblestone road as she ran to her destination. It was surprising to find a cobblestone road since concrete streets replaced them and have been used for about a decade now.

"This is the Bureau of Public Safety's Criminal Investigation Department-"

Turning a corner, she spotted a large group of people and finally slowed to a fast walking pace. Red and blue bounced off the buildings as she slipped between the bodies. In front of her, Sybil's drone waved its hands to keep everyone back, its robotic body awkward on it's large circular childish head.

"This area is now a restriction zone for safety reasons. We are requesting that all area residents evacuate immediately. I repeat-"

She couldn't wait for the drone to move away. Pushing out of the crowd, she stepped forward and shoved her badge in front of its scanners. The robot turned its head towards the woman.

"Lucy Heartfilia of the Public Safety Bureau...?" she called out to the drone in case it was able to detect sound. However, the robot did nothing but continued its recording somewhere else. The blonde took this as her okay to pass as she ducked under the yellow tape.

Lucy's throat itched and her heart jumped as she reached the white tent. A white table stood in the center with two lanterns on each of the edges. A woman with long, red hair stood in front of it, her back to Lucy, looking at something in her hand that the blonde could not see. The blonde shook as much water as she could from her suit, frowning as she felt her bun hit the back of her neck in a soppy, heavy mess.

"Um-" Lucy stopped behind the woman nervously. "Inspector Scarlet?"

Scarlet turned fully, clipboard in hand as she sized the blonde up. Whatever she thought about the blonde already wasn't good as her brows furrowed and she raised a hand to her temple. "A newbie on this case, just great."

The blonde gulped, but raised her hand to her head in a salute as she squeaked, "Assigned to the Criminal Investigation Department as of today. Inspector Lucy Heartfilia reporting for duty, ma'am."

"Just Erza is fine," she huffed, looking back down at the clipboard in her hand. "Sorry you were asked to work so soon..."

Erza placed the clipboard on the table behind her and raised her arm to mess with the device around her wrist. It looked similar to a watch, but after Erza tinkered with it, light flashed upwards, becoming a blue screen. Lucy stared in awe at the device as she looked at the face on the center of the screen.

"Our target is Bora Charminence," the woman flinched briefly, obviously annoyed with the case and/or person of interest. "We've been on his tail for weeks, and a street scanner caught his color phase today when he was trying to talk some woman into following him."

"I'd say he's anything but charming," Lucy joked but only received a grim stare. She cleared her throat as the redhead went on.

"The security drones requested he get therapy when he ran off into this division. The crime coefficient he had before this became a case wasn't high enough for us to arrest him. He could have just attended therapy." The screen changed to show pictures of the man in different settings. One of the pictures had him with a woman passed out, possibly dead when Lucy thought about it, in his arms as he was boarding a boat. "However, we have reasons to believe he is now involved in the slave trade. Now, his color phase is forest green which means he is aggressive and could be on drugs."

A high screech caught Lucy's attention as she turned her head towards the drones blocking only a few of the residents. A black van pulled in in front of the tent once the drones made way for it, and Lucy's eyebrow lifted at the big vehicle. "A police van?"

"You didn't think I was the only one working on this case, did you?" Erza asked, but when Lucy turned her attention to her briefly, she received a small grin. The blonde's shoulders slumped as the air around them became a little less stressed. The van's back door open, humming like Lucy's school bus used to do when it stopped.

"They are our enforcers. Unlike us inspectors, they are considered latent criminals so we use them as our hunting dogs."

Lucy gasped at the woman, "latent criminals?!"

Erza nodded. "Normally they would be quarantined with the rest of the latent criminals, but the Criminal Investigation Department allows them to be out if it is to help hunt those like themselves."

Feet hit the ground once the back doors were opened, two males standing a few feet from them. Lucy shivered as a gust of wind blew against her and her eyes met with one of the enforcers'. However, her eyes quickly went to his head, and she couldn't decide whether to laugh now or wait until she got home. His hair was pink!

She must have been staring too long because the man walked towards her until she couldn't focus on anything but his green eyes. His breath on her skin warmed her cheeks until the blonde felt almost too hot. "Who are you?"

He spoke in a harshness Lucy thought was probably much deserved. However, he suddenly gasped for air as a hand pushed him back. Lucy jerked her head toward Erza as the pink haired man _tsk_ ed from the ground. "Don't be rude, Natsu."

The other man laughed, clutching at his stomach. His black hair brushed against his pale skin, and Lucy noticed a scar under his bangs. He stopped laughing quickly after he noticed Erza's glare.

The pink-haired man jumped to his feet, patting down his red jacket before Erza spoke. "Ms. Heartfilia is our new inspector. As enforcers and her subordinates, I expect you two to behave and obey the orders she gives to you."

The two men nodded and turned their attentions to Lucy. As she was about to introduce herself properly to them, though, Erza continued on.

"Our target has a hostage so we need to make this quick. Now that Inspector Heartfilia is on board, we will split into twos. Gray and I will take the East wing, and, Natsu will accompany Inspector Heartfilia to the West wing. He's headed towards a dead-end, and drones will stay here in case he makes a run for it in this direction."

Something square rolled its way towards Erza, opening itself to her when it came to a stop. Her hand reached in before pulling out a gun-like weapon. Lucy was sure it was what her father had described as a gun, but she didn't ask. She had never seen a gun before since they were practically banned, but she didn't want to admit this. It seemed embarrassing to think this was going to be her first time even seeing one let alone _use_ one.

After the black-haired man grabbed his, he followed Erza out of the tent and into the dark night.

"Keep him on a short leash!" Lucy heard Erza yell out in the distance. She wasn't sure what she had meant before the pink-haired man next to her walked up to the weapon box.

"Bark, bark," he said sarcastically. He reached for a gun, but when he realized the blonde was staring, a smile crept onto his face. "You know how to use a dominator, right?"

"D-dominator?" Lucy stuttered, blushing in embarrassment.

"It's a gun that reads psycho passes." He held the gun up in a stance as if he were going to shoot the dark night itself. "You just aim at someone and shoot. However, it only allows you to shoot at those with a high crime coefficient."

Lucy reached for the handle of one of the dominators, but when she had a hold of it, a voice spoke to her. The mechanical voice echoed in her mind as if she were wearing earphones.

" _Portable Psychological Diagnosis and suppression system. Dominator activated. User recognized. Inspector Lucy Heartfilia of the Bureau of Public Safety. Member of the Department of Criminal Investigations._ "

It took everything in Lucy not to drop the gun in shock of the voice that spoke to her.

"These things are able to speak to you," the man next to her said, "but only you can hear it. Don't ask me how it works."

" _Permit of use confirmed. You are a competent user. The current enforcement mode is non-lethal paralyzer. Please aim your weapon and neutralize the target._ "

"Alright," he said, nudging the woman with his shoulder. "Let's go!"

He rushed out of the tent before she could say anything. Flabbergasted, she ran after him, rain soaking her clothes again after only a minute outside the tent.

"Wait!" She yelled. "Shouldn't we have a plan?!"

She ran forward until she spotted pink, the man waiting for her impatiently in the alleyway. When she came to a stop, she inhaled sharply at her lack of stamina. She needed to renew her gym membership soon if she was going to always be running around after criminals. Lucy could feel her hair sag at the new weight so she pulled out her tie. The man in front of her seemed to have the same problem. His volumed, stuck-up hair now matted his face, bangs sticking to his forehead. "Natsu, right?"

"Yeah," he smiled almost childishly.

"Please don't run off," she sighed. However, she suddenly remembered Erza's retreating words and what the man in front of her actually was. With that, she straightened and placed both of her hands on the gun's handle.

Natsu either didn't notice her actions or didn't care as he shook off as much rain as he could before walking forward, looking behind himself every now and again to make sure she followed.

As they walked in silence, Lucy wondered how the two people she had just met could ever be criminals. The man that went with Erza had seemed so nice and welcoming. Even Natsu smiled like a little boy, without a care in the world of what was going on around him.

Her hands raised unconsciously ahead, the voice returning.

" _Crime coefficient over 120. A target of the department of criminal investigations. Released safety_."

Lucy blinked. A number had appeared to her mind's eye: _134_. Was that his crime coefficient? Wasn't that number supposed to be only from those who could return to a healthy and low psycho pass?!

"Hey," Natsu growled when she collided to his back, dominator in between them. The blue lights faded from the weapon as it fell from her hands and onto the cobblestone. "Watch where you're going. That hurt."

"Sorry!" She wasn't sure whether to grab the dominator, ask if he was okay, or check if anyone was near. Her hands raised from their place, hovering over his jacket. "Are you-"

A hand wrapped itself around her mouth, Natsu's body coming behind her as he pulled her close and looked over the edge of the wall. Something clicked in her ear. "This is Hound 2. I have my sights on the target _and_ hostage."

Lucy's heartbeat pounded in her ears as she stood still in his grasp.

"Hound 1 and I are on our way. If you have a clear shot, you've got the go." Erza's voice echoed through the walky talky.

Natsu let his hand drop from Lucy's face, and she was quick to move away and grab the dominator from the ground. He smirked before rushing towards the couple, dominator in both hands aimed towards them.

"Freeze!" He yelled. He pulled the trigger.

Before his dominator could paralyze Bora, though, he pulled the hostage in front of himself, and the dominator did nothing.

" _Crime coefficient under 100. Not an enforcement target. Locked trigger_."

Natsu growled as he ran forward, but Bora was too fast. He rushed with the woman to the closest door and barricaded it before Natsu slammed his body against it with full force. Nothing budged.

Natsu banged on the metal, anger evident on his features, and Lucy took this moment to look at the building they escaped in. Noticing a window a few meters away into the building, she kicked the glass, sending shards to the floor. She looked back towards Natsu, his mouth open and eyes wide, before signaling him towards her. He ran to the broken window and jumped through in one swift move, avoiding making any contact with the shards on the window sill or the floor.

Natsu looked back, waiting as Lucy tried to find a place for her hand to rest and haul herself over. He sighed as he came back to the window sill and held his hands out for her to take hold of.

"We're gonna lose him," he said but Lucy couldn't find any anger on his face nor heard it in his voice. He pulled her through as she carefully avoided broken glass.

"Sorry," she said after her feet touched ground. She ran down the hallway leading to where Bora had locked the door, and took the stairs two at a time. Footsteps echoed hers but soon Natsu was two steps in front of her.

A beep bounced off the walls before Natsu panted into a walkie talkie. "Target on the move. We have him trapped inside the building."

"Do you need back-up?" Erza asked.

Natsu watched the blonde next to him as they continued their run up the stairs. Lucy looked over when he didn't reply and wondered if he saw her as a hindrance.

"No," he said finally. "We should be fine on our own."

With that, the walkie talkie returned to somewhere under his coat as they reached the top of the stairway. Lucy turned abruptly to run down the only hallway open to them, but something tugged at her sleeve. She whipped her head around to find Natsu's gaze on her, his grip tight before letting go.

"You should let me handle this," he said, voice low.

Lucy's eye twitched. So he did think she was in the way. She laughed internally at the thought of him still trying to bang the door downstairs as she took down Bora and safed the hostage. The look in her eyes finally made Natsu aware of her thoughts, and he quickly raised his arms in defense.

"I already have a high crime coefficient. It only makes sense for someone like me to take him down so you aren't affected." He lowered his head and sighed. "That's all I meant."

She was hesitant, letting the words echo in her mind until she finally gave him a nod. A smile crept onto his face, childish like before, but suddenly, the dominators in their hands changed. It's boxy form moved and widened, as the voice returned to her head.

" _Target's threat data has been updated. Enforcement mode lethal eliminator. Please aim with caution at the target and bring the target under control_."

Natsu tsked before quickly moving next to the wall. He stepped slowly around corners as noises grew louder and louder. A muffled cry made Lucy wince. Couldn't they just get in there already?

Natsu raised his dominator and aimed at the man named Bora.

"Bora!" Natsu exclaimed, shocking Lucy at his abruptness. Weren't they trying to be sneaky earlier? "Let the woman go!"

After standing in shock for a brief moment, Bora cackled, one hand coming up and ruffling through his hair. He had a tattoo down his face, a tall, lean body, and rough hands squeezing the arm of a red-headed woman. A smirk broke across his face. "Or what? You'll throw up on me?"

Lucy raised a brow as Natsu growled. "We were on a stupid boat! I get motion sickness..."

Bora continued to cackle, the girl in his grip sobbing on the floor. The woman's arm he held was caked in blood. Lucy raised her dominator at the man, scoffing and ready to take this man away from the woman. "Bora Charminence! Step aside and raise your hands up!"

A shiver ran down Lucy's spine, though, when Bora's attention was on her, looking her up and down with a wicked smile. "Blondie new? She's pretty cute."

The dominator in her hand sent a number to her mind: _327_.

Bora pulled his hostage up onto her feet, one hand wrapping around her waist while the other pulled out a knife and slid the smooth side of it against the woman's cheek. Everyone stilled in the room, the only sounds being the sniffles from the woman and Lucy's heart racing in her ears.

"Pass the guns over," Bora hummed, tightening his grip around the woman. "Or I'll gut this woman."

Lucy couldn't help but drop the dominator as her hands shook. The gun clattered to the floor, but Lucy couldn't hear it. She couldn't hear Natsu's sigh as he calmly placed his dominator on the floor in front of him, nor the triumphant chuckle Bora sent their way. Only her beating heart reached her ears as Natsu sent her a worried glance.

Was she going to break? Here and now? Natsu had figured the blonde to be nervous since this was her first day on the job. However, he didn't think she'd break down so easily. Part of him hoped that that wasn't the case. She wasn't going to break that easily, surely. Not when he was there.

Natsu kicked his dominator across the room and tucked his hands in his pockets as he watched Bora kneel and grab the dominator, pushing the woman in his grip to the ground. Of course, Bora raised the gun in their direction, but Natsu knew better. He watched as the smirk on Bora's face was replaced by a scowl, and Natsu took his chance. Grabbing Lucy's dominator from the floor, he aimed and fired.

Lucy watched in horror as a blue light shot out. At first, the blue light vanished, but then the man's skin started to change form. His skin bubbled like boiling water before he exploded, leaving only his arm on the woman.

The red-headed woman cried out in horror, moving away from the left over body parts with blood drenching her clothes, skin, and hair. Lucy shook from where she stood, leaning on the wall for balance as Natsu moved slowly towards the manic woman.

She didn't understand. What had happened? Why did Bora not shoot them? Why did the dominator have to change? Why couldn't they have just brought him in?

She must've spoken her thoughts out loud since Natsu answered her. "The dominators only work for those in the PSB - in anyone else's hands, they are just paper weights. As for Bora, his crime coefficient rose too high. Passed 300 and they can't go back. Not even therapy can help them."

He knelt in front of the woman, the smell of iron evading his nose. His eyes glided across the bruises and cuts that littered her body, and his hand moved out towards her. The woman flinched, but he didn't touch her. He nodded his head towards the large gash on her arm. "We should get that looked at. Until then, it's best to wrap it up."

The woman hesitated before reaching out to him. However, her lip quivered and eyes widened, staring at a point behind him. "N-no. Stop…"

His head snapped in the direction and eyes widened as Erza and Gray stood behind them, dominators aimed towards them.

"Natsu!" Erza snapped. "Look at her psycho pass!"

Lucy watched in horror as Erza stepped forward and Natsu turned back to the woman, his hands clutching the handle of his dominator. The dominators stayed in lethal elimination mode.

"W-wait!" Lucy yelled when he aimed the dominator at the woman. "She's the hostage! We're supposed to protect her, not kill her!"

She had a point. Natsu knew this. He knew this every time this happened - the victim's psycho pass clouding from the things they've been through. From the stress of the system turning on them. He knew!

"She's just a bit disoriented!" Lucy continued. "We can wait for her to calm down a bit."

The woman in front of him sobbed as she fell back, her body scooting back against the wall. Her fingers grazed the knife Bora had dropped and took it into her palm. "Leave me alone!"

For once, Natsu didn't know what to do. To shoot or not shoot. Lucy's words rang loudly in his ears.

"Are we going to shoot the victims who haven't done anything wrong?!" Lucy cried. Erza called out his name, ordering him to do his job. _Just pull the trigger._

Yet, at that moment, before his fingers could squeeze the latch, he felt a jolt. A shriek warned him from behind of what was to come. His body shook violently before he lost consciousness.

Lucy took small steps towards the woman as the blue hue from her dominator faded. Red eyes met her green eyes in shock, her body trembling from all the tension happening around her. Her grasp around the knife shook as she stared at the blonde coming closer to her.

"Put down the knife please," Lucy shook as her dominator aimed at the woman. "I don't want to hurt you. We can help you."

With that, the knife dropped out of the red-head's palm. Her eyes softened and the dominators switched to paralyzer mode. Lucy smiled in relief, cheeks wet as she reached out to her.

Before the woman could grasp Lucy's hand though, she squeaked as electricity wrapped itself around her body. She fell limp into the blonde's arms. Horrified, Lucy glared at the inspector behind her.

"The Sybil system had judged her as a threat, Inspector Heartfilia." Erza lowered her dominator to her side, a harsh tone in her voice. "I expect a report on the events that have happened first thing in the morning. You have some explaining to do."


	2. Chapter 2

With her report turned in and no work scheduled for the day, Lucy sat nervously in an outside chair, the hot sun beating on her skin. Her black-and-white-striped tee clung to her uncomfortably as sweat slid down her spine. Why she decided to wear black knee-high boots today was beyond her. They were cute, but she preferred sandals, a tank top, and a skirt in this weather.

With her blonde hair flowing freely down her back and bangs covering her eyes, flashbacks of last night flooded her mind. _The electric shock her dominator shot towards her colleague. The sound of him gasping before his body hit the floor with a thud. Inspector Erza's eyes narrowed on her._ Lucy covered her face in the sweaty palms of her hands. There was no way she could return to work, not right after that.

"Awe," a high-pitched voice Lucy recognized interrupted her thoughts. "Lu, I'm sure your first day wasn't _that_ bad."

Lucy looked up as her blue-haired friend began to sit in the chair across from her. Her friend's orange romper swayed with the breeze with a matching headband keeping her wild blue hair out of her doll-like face. Almost instantly, Lucy could feel the knot in her stomach loosen.

"Levy," the blonde whined. "It was horrible…"

Her friend gave her a worried glance before she continued.

"And I can't even talk to you about it because it's 'classified information.' Honestly, this is the worst."

"Well," Levy smiled as she held her chin in the palm of her hands. "You seem stressed, but your psycho pass isn't cloudy whatsoever. Are you sure you're even that upset about it?"

"O-of course I am!" Lucy whimpered as her fingers tugged her hair. "I couldn't get a blink of sleep last night."

Lucy knew her friend hadn't meant any harm with her remark, but sometimes it bothered her how her psycho pass never seemed to change. She would lay in her bed wondering if she just didn't care as much about things as she should. Even last night, her calm psycho pass disturbed her. Maybe she was emotionless...

She sighed. "I'm starting to think I'm not right for this job."

"Careful, Lu. Are you starting to doubt the Sybil system?" Although her friend wore a teasing smile on her face, Lucy could almost hear the warning. While in school, Levy and Lucy had always teased about Sybil kidnapping those who didn't believe the system and brainwashing them. They were just rumors, but there wasn't proof against the idea either.

"No…" Lucy frowned. She hadn't exactly lied. The Sybil system had dropped the crime rates in Fiore by half since its role in the city had started ten years ago. Thinking about last night, though, Lucy understood how that was possible and she couldn't exactly agree with the system's ways...

"Well, your aptitude scores are top notch." Levy smiled genuinely at her friend. "You could've joined me in being a journalist if you wanted to. Heck, you could've chosen anything with your scores."

She reached out and grasped Lucy's hands. "I still don't get your choice, but I know no one can do this better than you can."

Lucy squeezed her friend's hand. "Thanks, Levy."

"That's what best friends are for, right?" Just like that, a switch had turned on in her blue-haired friend. Her smile turned devious as her eyes squinted at the blonde. "And best friends are also here for _boy talk_."

"No. Levy."

"Come on, Lu. Tell me, tell me! Any cute guys catch your eye?"

Lucy groaned. There was no way to escape this, was there? "I have a feeling you're asking because _you_ have a cute guy to tell."

Levy cheeks reddened quickly, and Lucy took her chance to turn the tables. "Oh! I was right! Spill!"

After her talk with Levy, Lucy climbed the stairs leading to her workplace. Levy had eventually told her about the man she had fallen victim to. He sounded scary, actually, when Lucy thought about it. A guy with long black hair and piercings all over his body didn't sound pleasing to her at all. However, Levy blushed the whole time as she spoke highly of him. Her friend's happiness seemed contagious even at this moment. As Lucy stood a few feet from the front door, she didn't feel quite as nervous.

That feeling was quickly slipping though. What lied inside the building in front of her was probably a good kick out the door. With hunched shoulders, Lucy pulled out her compact, an item that looked a lot like makeup and a tiny mirror, but was actually a clothing hologram. Lucy pressed her finger down on a button labeled _work_ before her striped shirt and shorts were replaced with a white blouse, black dress coat, and a black skirt.

Of course, she knew better. Her clothes from earlier were just under this image of work clothes. _One nice thing about Sybil technology_ , she guessed as she walked through the front door.

Walking through the halls, heading towards Unit 1's section was difficult. As Lucy got closer and closer, her head told her to turn back. Run. She didn't have to be here. Her heart told her otherwise. She needed to see him. Make sure he was alright and to apologize.

 _Nope! I can do this tomorrow!_

Before Lucy had any chances of turning back, the door slid open. A girl looked up at her from inside, lights from computers lighting up her skin in the pitch black room.

"H-hello," Lucy called out. She stepped in close enough for the door to slide close. "I'm looking for Wendy Marvell?"

"I'm Wendy," the girl smiled shyly, reaching her hand out to greet her. Lucy shook her hand. There must be another Wendy Marvell here surely…

"Lucy Heartfilia...You're the analyst for Unit 1?"

The young girl nodded.

"O-oh…" Lucy wasn't sure what to say. The girl in front of her couldn't be any older than 15 years old! And she was a PSB analyst?! "Uh, I was told you could tell me about Natsu Dragneel's recovery?"

The girl nodded again before turning back to the computers. A moment later, Natsu's unconscious body came up on the projected onto the wall. He laid on a hospital bed, white hospital shirt replacing his blouse from the other night. Lucy bit her bottom lip as she stared at the scene.

"He's still resting, but he should be fine by tomorrow." Wendy said. After Lucy continued to watch the image, the analyst smiled. "You can go in and see him if you want…"

Lucy wanted to refuse. Seeing him while he was unconscious wouldn't do any good. But she nodded her head anyway.

Once she was left inside the recovery room alone, Lucy sat in a chair not far from Natsu's bed. She watched as his chest rose and fell, a machine beeping steadily next to him. _What had I done?_ she thought as she covered her face.

Something rustled the sheets and a higher pitched _beep_ caused Lucy to sit up. Natsu's face scrunched up as his hands grasped the sheets under him. The machine next to him told Lucy his heart rate was rising along with his crime coefficient. _147._

 _It was 134 yesterday..._

Lucy didn't know what to do. She quickly rushed to his side but she questioned if it was best to wake him or let him be. _Maybe I should get a nurse in here?_

"L-" Natsu spoke but too quiet for her to catch. She hovered over him to hear better, waiting for him to say something once more. She watched as his knuckles turned white and his chest rose quickly.

Looking back at his face, Lucy placed her hand on his forehead. He was burning up!

"Where are the nurses?" She scoffed. Thinking quickly, she rushed to the bathroom attached to the room. Throwing the hand towel in the sink, the fabric began to soak with ice cold water. Lucy rushed back into the room where the monitors beeped loud and quick. Her fingers brushed his bangs up before patting his skin with the cloth.

"Sorry," she cried. "I'm so sorry..."

After what felt like an hour, Natsu finally calmed down. The monitor beeped slow as sweat dripped down his face. His psycho pass didn't budge, though. Lucy felt emotionally exhausted, but the words Lucy was able to catch from him before kept her mind busy.

 _"I... -venge... sorry..." Lasagne? Was that what he said afterwards?_

 _La.. sea-na? La Sona? L-_

"Hey..." a voice broke her thoughts. Lucy turned her head and saw that Natsu had woken up... with her hand still pressing the cloth to his forehead. Her hand quickly removed itself as if it had been burned.

She didn't know what to say. Well, she _couldn't_ say anything. Her throat was dry and her stomach felt tight and twisted. His eyes widened suddenly, and before she knew it, tears spilled down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed.

He sat up slowly, removing the cloth from his forehead and staring at her in bewilderment. His eyebrows rose and suddenly a throaty laugh filled the room. "You're weird..."

"What?" was all Lucy could say in a hoarse voice.

"Inspectors don't apologize to enforcers." He smiled down at the cloth in his hand. "You're weird."

"Sorry..."

Natsu grew quiet and his features softened. At some point, he opened his mouth as if to say something, but he shut it just as quick. Lucy wiped her sleeve against her cheeks and sighed. "I'm not cut out for this job, am I?"

"What are you talking about?" Natsu scoffed. "You choose to protect a victim instead of harming them. You were able to put justice before duty. I think that's pretty cool."

He smirked at her, making her heart warm.

"Thank you." She couldn't understand how he could so easily forgive her, but she didn't want to think further into it. Tomorrow would be a fresh start for sure.

"Besides, Erza tases me and Gray all the time." Natsu laughed and Lucy couldn't help but giggle with him. In the end, she was happy her partner was Natsu. Anyone else and they might have told her off, told her to leave and never come back.

The monitor beeped loudly as Natsu's psycho pass changed in the slightest. _146_. Lucy stared at it for a long moment, remembering just who she was talking to. _A latent criminal..._

 _I don't understand. Your psycho pass…_ She must have spoken out loud. Natsu was no longer laughing but looking at her with a questioning gaze. "Sorry, ignore me!"

And he did just that as he spoke, "You know, I actually need a slight favor..."

Slight favor her butt! Sure, _can you check on my cat and make sure he's fed_ didn't sound bad at all, but boy had she been wrong. Once she had left Natsu to sleep longer, she hopped on the elevator and headed for the living quarters of the enforcers. Once she had opened the door to Natsu's place, the cat started bouncing up the walls.

"Come here, Happy," Lucy called, as she continued to make a grab for him. However, her fingers could only brush against his blue fur before the cat jumped away. Honestly…

 _"_ _Don't be alarmed," Natsu had said. "His fur is permanently blue- he's not sick or anything. He just had an accident with some paint or somethin' is all. Oh, he also likes girls so you should get along just fine."_

Sighing in defeat, Lucy poured cat food into a bowl and sat on the couch, the only real furniture in the room besides a small fridge. There wasn't any way of cooking in the apartment so that must've meant Natsu ate in the cafeteria below the living quarters. _Maybe enforcers aren't allowed to cook._

They couldn't leave the building either...

Her eyes caught a hammock in the corner of the room which she stared at warily. A pillow and one scaley-white blanket laid on top of it. Surely, Natsu slept on something more comfortable, right?

Suddenly, something soft brushed her leg, and a purr vibrated against her skin. Lucy rolled her eyes. "Oh, now you want attention." _Stupid cat._

She rubbed its head before picking the furball up and holding it to her chest. "You're such a butt."

That night, knowing her partner was alright, Lucy slept peacefully. Rather than the nightmare of her actions waking her early in the morning, her holo servant, Plue, barked at her like he usually did when she wanted up. "Puu-puun! Puuun!"

Lucy smiled at the holo. "I'm up, I'm up."

Sure, Lucy had no idea what Plue was saying most of the time, but he seemed to understand her. And if she needed any kind of reminder, a text bubble would just load up next to him. "Plue, can we set the apartment to 2777 Type C?"

Plue nodded before her lights came on and her home became decorated in the style she had at her parent's home. Instead of the gray walls and floors that her room actually was, her bedroom became all shades of pink. "Thank you, Plue."

She hopped out of bed, and headed for the shower. Today was going to be a great day.

 _Today is going to be a great day_ , Lucy reminded herself as she stood in front of Erza's desk, waiting for the Head Inspector to finish reading her take on her first mission.

"So your report says you made the right decision at the time," Erza spoke, her eyes leaving her computer screen to stare at the blonde in front of her.

"Yes, ma'am," Lucy replied. She tried her best not to collapse under pressure, keeping her back straight and giving the best determined face she could muster at that moment. "Our victim, Flare Corona, had an elevated crime coefficient, but it was only temporary. The therapy she's receiving while in custody is going well and her psycho pass is already recovering..."

Erza's features throughout Lucy's reply had gone from hard to harder. She was no longer paying attention to her, though, which was a relief, but to a point slightly over her shoulder. Lucy turned at a _meow_ , coming face-to-face with the little blue furball.

"Yo," Natsu smiled, waving a hand to Erza with Happy perched on his shoulder. He was no longer wearing the red coat he had worn on her first mission but a matching uniform to her's.

"Natsu," Erza growled at her desk, pointing an accusing finger. "Why is _that_ here?"

Natsu looked past his shoulder, turning completely around. Then he looked back at the Head Inspector. "What?"

Suddenly, a haughty laugh made Gray's presence reknown to Lucy. She looked back to see that his uniform had wrinkled greatly since she came in and his tie was on the floor. Erza sent a glare his way, which shut him up quickly, before she stood from her chair and growled, "The _cat_ , Natsu!"

Natsu never flinched like Lucy had at the volume of Erza's tone. Instead, he gasped and covered the cat's ears.

"Happy is _not_ a _that_!" He then whispered, "Don't listen to her, Happy."

Lucy didn't know what to do. She stood between an idiot and a very angry woman- make it the Head Inspector of Unit 1 at that. Part of her wanted to giggle and pet Happy, but this _was_ a workplace...

"Either way," Gray chimed at his desk, "this is a job, not a petting zoo."

Natsu turned to the other enforcer, and they both had a glaring contest until Erza told them to knock it off.

The redhead let out a long sigh before plopping back down in her seat. "Natsu, I assume you read Inspector Heartfilia's report before coming in. Do you have anything to add?"

Lucy flinched at what was to come. Once the report was turned in, the higher ups would probably call for her, scold her, and fire her! She gulped. What would Sybil do if a citizen didn't fit in their given career?

She peered from under her bangs, but was surprised to find him grinning at her. "I say Lucy fulfilled her duty. That's pretty much it."

Lucy didn't know whether to be upset about him not addressing her as "Inspector Heartfilia" or to be happy he considered her enough of a friend to address her by her first name. Either way, she couldn't help the blush dusting her cheeks as she mouthed, _thank you_.

Before Erza could say anything back, a loud voice echoed through the room. "Unit 1, you have a new assignment."

Natsu smiled wide and tapped Lucy's back. "Ready, Inspector?"

* * *

 **Sorry this is late. I had planned to post a chapter a week, but I was moving into a new house these past two weeks so it was hard to find time to write. Not only that, but this chapter is so short. And I don't like it… but it will have to do. I promise next chapter will be more exciting, guys.**

 **With that said, I want to give a special thanks to the people who reviewed or left a comment on chapter one on tumblr:**

 ** _RansomNote, Yaushie, stargirl222, and celestialmarshmellow._**

 **Because of your critiques/comments, I am so happy and will continue this for you guys.**

 **Any kind of review is great ;)**

 **(Also, I am in search of a beta? If anyone is interested, please contact me (You can also contact me on tumblr. My username is ash-is-boss))**


End file.
